A Year of Choices…
By Barbara Dahlgren from Barbara’s Banter at www.barbdahlgren.com
Perspective or how we see things determines how we live our lives or react in any given circumstance.
Without proper perspective even everyday living can become a burden. Every day we have deadlines to meet, bills to pay, and appointments to keep. We have houses and cars to maintain. We have relationships with spouses, kids, parents, siblings, and friends to nourish. Our lives are full of stress, stress, and more stress. Plus we have those unexpected inconveniences which can be time consuming and throw us “off our game.” It’s overwhelming. When we get overwhelmed it’s hard to discern the difference between an inconvenience and a tragedy. This is why perspective is so important.
Do we muddle through life or look for God in all our circumstances? Do we view others as an inconvenience or as children of God? Do we see problems or possibilities? Do we focus on conflicts or do we focus on Jesus? Do we make mountains out of molehills or molehills out of mountains? Do we discern what is really important or stay in a perpetual state of crisis management? We must focus on Christ and ask God for his peace if we are to experience the joy God would like us to have.
Keeping a good perspective is important if we are to evaluate our circumstances. A flat tire, a snoring spouse, a missed appointment, a late airplane, a lost game, the guy who cuts us off in traffic, the gossipy co-worker, a criticism, a put-down, the slow Internet connection, the stock market being down, our weight being up or a computer crashing is not as big a deal as a loved one dying or finding out we have cancer.
Of course God can take care of even the direst of situations but we could save ourselves a lot of turmoil and grief if we didn’t act like an in-grown toenail was the end of the world.
Consider this… a bad day is not a bad life. Before we over react we might want to ask ourselves if it what we are experiencing will really even matter to us five years from now, much less to anyone else.
One time USC had been defeated and humiliated in a 51-0 victory by Notre Dame. Coach John McKay came into the locker room and saw a group of down trodden football players. They were not used to losing games, but now they were beaten, worn out, and depressed. McKay said, “Men, let’s keep this in perspective. There are 800 million Chinese who don’t even know this game was played.”
Keep good perspective. Don’t look down at the ground; look up to Christ. With Christ in our lives all is not lost! Most times it’s not as bad as we think! As Scarlet O’Hara would say, “Tomorrow is another day!” Let’s get a good night’s sleep and wake up with the knowledge that God loves us! Always keep this perspective in mind – with God in our lives, each day and every tomorrow can be filled with peace and joy.
Suggestions for practicing this choice…
- When a problem arises ask yourself if it will really matter in 5 years? 10 years? An overflowing toilet won’t really impact the rest of your life.
- Don’t allow disappointments to dominate your thinking for days, weeks, months, or years. Ask God to help you to “step over that disappointment” and move on.
- Look at irritants as opportunities for growth, not excuses to whine, complain, or get upset
- We are influenced by the company we keep so try to hang out with people who don’t complain and are a joy to be around. They may not want you around if you are a grumpy goose, but more than likely they will tolerate you. Ask God to help you be a more positive person.
Learn to laugh. We take ourselves and our situations way too seriously. Smile at others even if you don’t want to. Practice by smiling when no one is around. Go ahead! Smile right now! I dare you! Smile, darn you, smile! 
